As a child I was not exposed to very many stressors.  We had a roof over our heads, food on the table, and were not living in a violent or volatile environment.  I did, however, have to deal with the stress surrounding divorce.  While each of my parents have now moved on to successful relationships and are able to share in special occasions for their grandchildren, things were not always so civil.  Learning how to interact with each of them individually rather than as a whole was a challenge and I’m quite sure that I failed on a number of occasions.  Failure is a rather effective teacher and over time I learned my place in each of their lives.  In addition, regular visits, cards, letters and phone calls were set up or exchanged so that the relationships we had were kept in tact.  While I do not know my father as in depth as my mother, I still have some great memories of him playing an important part of my childhood and I have learned a great deal about the work that all relationships take. 

My husband’s family is originally from the island of Oahu in Hawaii.  While the US Air Force relocated them years ago, the culture still runs deep within them.  Since leaving the islands many years ago, I wondered why, with the Vietnam conflict over, they never returned.  The answer was astoundingly financially focused.  The cost of living is incredibly high and most opportunities for employment are based on the tourism industry.  Both of these variables have helped to create Hawaii’s problems with poverty.  While doesn’t even come close to the highest poverty rate in the country, the lack of wages that can provide for all of a persons needs, can keep the cycle of poverty moving from generation to generation.  If you can not meet your basic needs, how can you possible save any money for a “rainy day” or an emergency.  In order to help combat this, large organizations like Meals on Wheels, the United Way, the YWCA, the YMCA and Habitat for Humanity are getting involved in the urban areas.  Legislators are also trying to work for a higher minimum wage in hopes that higher wages will help people afford the cost of living. 

As an infant teacher for the last several years, SIDS is the one thing that concerns me the most. While we still don’t know for sure what causes this syndrome much as has been learned about things that can help lower the chances. I feel a great sense or responsibility already by just being the children’s teacher, knowing that their health is in my hands as well only adds to the pressure I feel to do the very best I can.

In the center that I work for, we follow the NAEYC guidelines and the Back to Sleep Campaign. All children are put in their beds on their backs and are checked on frequently. In addition we do not allow infants to sleep in swings or bouncy chairs that could inhibit their ability to have free body movement as well as an open air passage. We also have a fan circulating air in the nap room, don’t allow anything in the crib with the infants and recommend pacifiers.

I found it very interesting that the recommendations for prevention of SIDS are pretty much worldwide. It seems that this is a problem that we are willing to tackle as a whole with very little debate. On the other side of the coin however, I found that there are a wide number of products on the market claiming to reduce the chance of SIDS. I guess free interprise and the opportunity to cash in on fear is still alive and well throughout the world.

My first pregnancy was very text book right up to the end.  During the last week of my pregnancy I woke up in the middle of the night to find that I was spotting.  I woke my husband and we called the hospital to see what they recommend.  They asked us to come and and upon our arrival they ran some tests.  While I was to term and the baby had turned, the test revealed that the baby was under a lot of stress.  Labor had apparently started although I had no knowledge of it.  The doctor let us know that we could go one of two ways.  We could give me something to speed up the delivery but with the amount of stress the baby was already under, it was highly probable that we would end up performing an emergency c-section and one of the two of us may not make it.  Our other option was to prep for surgery and just perform the c-section without waiting to see how the delivery would proceed naturally.  Needless to say it was not a difficult choice to make.  Prepping for surgery and having the epidural placed in my back was both painful and scary.  With my husband having to wait outside during this portion of the delivery, I remember feeling very alone.  Once I was ready and my husband was able to return to my side I was able to find a greater sense of calm.  I remember not feeling any pain just pressure as they worked to get Kapono out.  I also have very vivid memories of the medicine causing uncontrollable shakes and not being able to hold my arms still no matter how hard I tried.  For my husband, begin able to be in the operating room and watching the whole surgery was fascinating him him.  We joke about it now but I seriously think he would have scrubbed in and joined the doctors if they would have invited him to.  Once Kapono was born and they took him away to be cleaned and checked up I remember thinking that it was taking forever for me to be able to see him and hold him.  I had to be in recovery for two hours before I was able to hold him but the nurses took pictures for me and my husband brought them to my bedside with a report that all was well.  We spent the rest of the week in the NICU getting through a few minor problems but knowing that the baby was fine and that family and friends were surrounding me and my husband and providing us support was really helpful.

The thing that I found most interesting in researching child birth in other parts of the world was the differences in standard maternity leave.  Having a c-section I was required to take at least six weeks off but over the years I have worked in the early care and education field I have seen many mothers needing to go back to work within four weeks.  It is amazing to me that other countries have maternity plans that cover not only a percentage of wages but that hold your position for up to a year, and often provide on-site care for your children.